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Data Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data
Disclaimer: This site is an independent journalism project. Data analysis and editorial content are not affiliated with or endorsed by CMS or any government agency. All spending figures are based on publicly available Medicare payment records.
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Methodology•Download Data
  1. Home
  2. Procedures
  3. 87186
  4. Cost Analysis

How Much Does Evaluation of antimicrobial drug (antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral), microdilution or agar dilution Cost on Medicare?

Cost analysis for CPT 87186 — Evaluation of antimicrobial drug (antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral), microdilution or agar dilution

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Average Medicare Payment

$8.43

2023 data

Total Payments (2023)

$22.2M

Services (2023)

2.6M

Price Change (2014–2023)

-24.9%

📈 Year-over-Year Cost Trend

YearAvg PaymentTotal PaymentsServicesYoY Change
2014$11.22$32.3M2.8M—
2015$11.18$32.1M2.8M-0.4%
2016$11.19$32.4M2.9M+0.1%
2017$11.22$32.6M2.9M+0.3%
2018$10.40$30.1M2.9M-7.3%
2019$9.37$28.1M3.0M-9.9%
2020$8.55$21.7M2.5M-8.8%
2021$8.61$21.4M2.5M+0.7%
2022$8.49$21.5M2.5M-1.4%
2023$8.43$22.2M2.6M-0.7%

🗺️ State-by-State Cost Variation

The most expensive state pays 1.0x more than the cheapest for this procedure. WV averages $8.48 vs DC at $8.26.

StateAvg PaymentTotal PaymentsServicesProviders
WV$8.48$2.1K2523
WY$8.48$2.5K2994
MO$8.48$114.7K13.5K8
NH$8.48$6.7K78822
NM$8.48$40.6K4.8K5
MA$8.48$517.4K61.0K113
SC$8.48$163.6K19.3K5
NV$8.48$140.2K16.5K5
KS$8.48$478.8K56.5K11
MD$8.48$633.1K74.7K16
NY$8.47$808.3K95.4K317
PA$8.47$418.1K49.3K17
TN$8.47$297.2K35.1K71
RI$8.47$36.6K4.3K2
CA$8.47$2.0M237.2K47
GA$8.47$599.7K70.8K64
IL$8.47$811.5K95.8K38
NJ$8.47$2.2M264.6K264
TX$8.47$2.1M246.4K260
NE$8.47$54.7K6.5K2
MS$8.47$63.3K7.5K10
DE$8.47$38.0K4.5K3
OK$8.47$391.9K46.3K9
CO$8.47$244.1K28.8K11
AZ$8.47$707.4K83.5K87
AR$8.47$44.2K5.2K21
MI$8.47$88.3K10.4K30
NC$8.47$1.7M206.0K109
LA$8.47$138.7K16.4K39
OH$8.47$948.3K112.0K115
KY$8.47$210.9K24.9K54
FL$8.46$3.7M436.0K240
SD$8.46$45.5K5.4K23
VA$8.46$367.5K43.4K124
IA$8.46$91.7K10.8K89
HI$8.46$118.2K14.0K2
AL$8.46$626.4K74.1K61
OR$8.45$147.1K17.4K59
PR$8.45$7.5K88620
WA$8.45$392.5K46.5K112
IN$8.45$130.0K15.4K54
ME$8.45$17.9K2.1K2
UT$8.45$70.2K8.3K79
ND$8.45$36.5K4.3K8
ID$8.44$20.9K2.5K18
CT$8.44$10.8K1.3K5
MN$8.44$117.6K13.9K142
WI$8.41$193.7K23.0K17
DC$8.26$1.6K1972

💰 Who Bills the Most for This Procedure?

ProviderSpecialtyStatePaymentsServicesAvg/Service
Laboratory Corporation Of America HoldingsClinical LaboratoryNC$1.2M138.6K$8.47
Eccolab Group CoClinical LaboratoryFL$944.6K111.5K$8.47
Laboratory Corporation Of America HoldingsClinical LaboratoryNJ$870.3K102.7K$8.47
Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories IncClinical LaboratoryFL$638.4K75.3K$8.48
Quest Diagnostics IncorporatedClinical LaboratoryNJ$544.0K64.2K$8.48
Unilab CorporationClinical LaboratoryCA$530.2K62.5K$8.48
Laboratory Corporation Of AmericaClinical LaboratoryCA$494.8K58.4K$8.48
Laboratory Corporation Of America HoldingsClinical LaboratoryAL$490.7K58.0K$8.46
Laboratory Corporation Of America HoldingsClinical LaboratoryOH$483.7K57.2K$8.46
Clinical Pathology Laboratories, Inc.Clinical LaboratoryTX$399.6K47.1K$8.48
Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories IncClinical LaboratoryGA$379.8K44.8K$8.48
Laboratory Corporation Of AmericaClinical LaboratoryTX$368.4K43.6K$8.46
Labone LlcClinical LaboratoryKS$350.9K41.4K$8.48
Bioreference Health, LlcClinical LaboratoryNJ$350.6K41.4K$8.47
Sonora Quest Laboratories LlcClinical LaboratoryAZ$331.3K39.2K$8.46
Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories IncClinical LaboratoryTX$319.6K37.7K$8.48
Northwell Health LaboratoriesClinical LaboratoryNY$302.5K35.7K$8.48
Quest Diagnostics Llc IlClinical LaboratoryIL$297.2K35.0K$8.48
Laboratory Corporation Of AmericaClinical LaboratoryFL$293.2K34.6K$8.48
Pathgroup Labs, LlcClinical LaboratoryNC$292.7K34.6K$8.46

🤔 Is Evaluation of antimicrobial drug (antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral), microdilution or agar dilution Overpriced?

Based on the data, CPT 87186 shows a 1.0x variation in pricing across states — relatively consistent by Medicare standards.

Costs have decreased 24.9% since 2014. Medicare's fee schedule attempts to standardize pricing, though some variation is expected due to geographic cost-of-living adjustments and practice expense differences.

This analysis is based on publicly available CMS data and does not account for patient complexity, comorbidities, or facility-specific factors that may justify pricing differences.

Data Sources

  • • Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
  • • Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data (2014-2023)
  • • Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

Note: All data is from publicly available Medicare records. OpenMedicare is an independent journalism project not affiliated with CMS.